photo
caption:SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DOOM:
Batman, the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale, standing), has rescued
assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) from a
fate worse than death so that she can continue helping him fight
crime and corruption in Gotham City. end
caption.

Review by Kam Williams

Although Batman is an American icon,
it took a British production to come up with the best screen adaptation
of the comic book super-hero to date. This latest installment
was directed by London-born Christopher Nolan, whose murder mystery,
Memento, was second on this critic's 10 Best List of 2000.

Not
only did Nolan shoot the film in the U.K., he also hired fellow
countryman Christian Bale to play the title character. Indeed,
British actors comprise the bulk of the principal and supporting
cast, and include Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Linus
Roache, Colin McFarlane, in addition to Ireland's Liam Neeson,
Cillian Murphy, Gerard Murphy, and Larry Holden. Morgan Freeman
and Katie Holmes are the only American actors in lead roles.

Aside
from occasionally inauthentic accents, Batman Begins works
splendidly for two reasons: First, it dispenses with the idea
that the villains have to be quirky, colorful, superficial savants,
àla the Batman television series in the sixties.
This film illustrates how compelling a plot can be when one works
with fleshed-out antagonists as opposed to stick-figured caricatures
of evil.

Secondly, the picture presents millionaire Bruce
Wayne as a brooding, vulnerable human being, taking us deep inside
his tortured psyche to explain the existential angst which led
to the creation of his crime-fighting alter ego. We learn that,
as a boy, he developed a paralyzing fear of bats after being trapped
in a well while trying to retrieve an Indian arrowhead for his
playmate Rachel Dawes (Holmes). He was further traumatized when
his parents were mugged and murdered right in front of him.

Overwhelmed
by his loss, Bruce abandoned Gotham City for the Orient, where
he studied martial arts at the feet of Ducard (Neeson). Bruce
Wayne was learning to channel his lust for revenge in a constructive
fashion which would honor the Wayne family name.

Meanwhile,
Gotham City has degenerated into a cesspool of political and corporate
corruption. After he completes his training as a ninja, Bruce
vows to return home to eradicate injustice and fear.

Upon
his return to Gotham, he discovers that Wayne Industries, has
come under the control of Richard Earle (Rutger Hauer), a crooked
CEO who has shifted the company's focus from philanthropic concerns
to earning profits at any cost. This irks Bruce because he hails
from a long line of philanthropic ancestors, one of whom allowed
runaway slaves to stay a cave on his estate, as a stop on their
trip to freedom on the underground railway.

So, Bruce Wayne
contacts Lucius (Freeman), a black executive unfairly booted from
the board of directors. The inventive Lucius has been banished
to the institution's equivalent of Siberia, i.e. a remote basement
where he has been free to tinker away, inventing military prototypes
such as a bullet-proof bodysuit and an armor-plated automobile.

There
the Batman persona is born, and, with the help of his butler Alfred
(Caine), and honest cop Jim Gordon (Oldman), the Caped Crusader
embarks on a campaign to sweep the streets clean. This doesn't
sit well with Mafia boss Carmine Falcone (Wilkinson) or with Dr.
Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), aka The Scarecrow, an urban terrorist
who has a weapon of mass destruction.

Batman Begins'
dark-hued cinematography imbues the film with a relentlessly grim
tone, creating a somber pall which adults may appreciate but which
might be too scary for kids under the age of ten. Do not expect
to have the tension cut by silly asides, since director Nolan
has avoided distractions which would undercut the emotional tension.

Other
features are Batmobile and Batsuit upgrades, state-of-the-art
gadgetry, and spectacular chase scenes and fight sequences. Rachel
has blossomed into a beautiful woman who is an assistant district
attorney, but Bruce Wayne doesn't notice her, and as Batman, he
is an obsessed super hero on a mission. No need for such distractions
at this point since this story is about the genesis of the legend.
The love interest may come in a sequel.